But there’s a problem with the way most of us set goals. Oftentimes, our goals (at least usually our business goals) are somewhat arbitrary.

“I want to have 20 patterns published by the end of July.”

“I want to make $1,000/month from my business.”

Those goals are driven not by our why, but by results. We want a certain thing, either a certain amount of money, or a certain project finished, and so we set a goal around it.

The problem with doing things this way is that it doesn’t incorporate your why!

Just like in module 2 when we had to check our How against our Why, now we have to check our What against our How, against our Why. (Say that five times fast!)

All of these elements nest together to form the Golden Circle. If we don’t fit them together, they’re all just a bunch of differently flavored donuts! (See what I did there?)

The best way to determine your true goals, is to reverse engineer them.

And by reverse engineer I mean, start with your why, then your how, then what, then set your goals.

Example time! Let’s take a look at the entire YPS Golden Circle, and how our goals fit in:

Why: To help yarnpreneurs build a business they love...

How: ...By building a hub for educational content, resources, and community, where yarnpreneurs can come for support and growth.

What:

Provide valuable content.

Continue to refine how we offer content.

To always innovate when it comes to sharing value and content.

Network with experts in the field.

To seek out experts in the subjects our members need support in.

Goals: Grow the course library to 5 courses by June 2018. Increase membership by at least 20% each month by December of 2017.

As you can see, we basically have two “whats”: providing valuable content, and networking with experts in the field. By doing these two things, we fulfill our how, which fulfills our why.

Our goals are just extensions of our Golden Circle. Growing our course library will allow us to offer valuable content from experts in the field and growing our membership will allow us to help more yarnpreneurs build a business they love.

See? Easy peasy.

It is inevitable that your whats and your goals will change over time. You’ll either accomplish them, or you’ll have to adjust for new plans or ideas (or a new why).

However, if you always have a way of checking your new goals against your Golden Circle, you can be sure to set goals that are aligned with your why!

Action Steps:

What is your what?

Write down what it is that you do.

Does it fit into the rest of your Golden Circle?

What are your goals?

Reverse engineer your goals from your what.

Set 2-3 goals that will help you achieve your what.

Make sure they fit into the rest of your Golden Circle!

The Result: A Completed Golden Circle

A completed Golden Circle means you’ve not only been paying attention during this course, but you’ve mapped out the most important parts of your business.

Your Golden Circle is the foundation upon which you will build your entire business. Without it, you’d be building on shaky ground!

DOWNLOAD YOUR GOLDEN CIRCLE WORKSHEET

Action Steps:

Take a pic and post it in the Facebook group or Instagram with the hashtag #MyGoldenCircle so we can give you a virtual high five!

Take a moment to bask in the glory that is your complete Golden Circle… and remember: as long as you’re building your business on this foundation you’re building towards success!

Speaking of success...

Building Your Success Path

There are about a million things that go into building a successful business.

With a completed Golden Circle, you’re already well ahead of everyone without one, but you’ve still got a ways to go.

The next step is to layout your success path.

Your success path will include all of the day-to-day operations, the marketing efforts, the planning, the project management, and all the other things that go into the creation of a career as a yarnpreneur.

It’s a lot to consider, and a lot to juggle.

If you’re serious about having a career as a yarnpreneur, you’ll need guidance, education, and resources on your path to success!

I mean, if you want to be a lawyer you can’t just be a lawyer tomorrow! There are certain things you have to do to be successful. Likewise, if you don’t have the right tools or knowledge, the yarn market can be very fickle.

Being a yarnpreneur is hard work, and that’s a good thing! If it was easy, everyone would do it.

You may have to put in the work, but you shouldn’t have to struggle.

That’s why The Yarnpreneur Society + Academy exists.

(Remember? We’re helping yarnpreneurs build businesses they love!)

So we set out to build a success path that would help yarnpreneurs on their journey to well… success!

It includes 12 in-depth courses that guide you through all of the nitty-gritty business building stuff.